There were many who suffered in the recent chaos, but there were also those who benefited—the Awakeners.
If any group grew stronger the fastest due to the chaos, it was them.
However, a significant number also fell during the chaos due to their lack of initial strength.
After all, not every Awakener was as power and money -hungry as Michael, Mira, and Lilian that started hunting monsters early on.
These three, however, had grown considerably stronger thanks to the chaos.
There was no need to mention Michael—his growth was relentless, increasing by the moment.
As for Mira and Lilian, both had managed to advance to Rank 1 during the chaos.
However, their quest completion results were far less impressive than Michael's.
They had done the bare minimum to advance, which meant they reaped fewer benefits.
Even so, reaching Rank 1 made them significantly stronger compared to when they were still unranked.
Thanks to the cracks, they had also leveled up a few times, though they were still far from reaching Michael's current height of Level 20—both were still Level 15, his previous level.
Mira's voice broke the silence as she stood behind Lilian, who was calmly watching the local news on her phone.
On the screen, a familiar face appeared—Michael.
He looked slightly dirty, but completely unharmed.
The news had spent minutes interviewing the survivors Michael had protected, before turning to question Michael himself and his unique summons.
Watching how Michael barely responded made Mira sneer.
"He truly isn't one to talk, huh?"
She hadn't forgotten.
That man had completely ignored her message—and was still ignoring it now.
She had sent him another message after the chaos settled, yet he hadn't replied.
Annoyed, she debated whether she should just block his number.
Yet, despite her frustration, she found herself feeling relieved that he was okay.
"I saw his undead carrying a griffin onto one of those hover trucks from the Association."
Lilian's sudden words made Mira turn to her.
"Do you think he's the one who killed it?"
Though she already knew the likely answer, she still asked.
"Most likely," Lilian replied without hesitation.
"It shouldn't have been anyone else, and those griffins even move in groups - he was the only one defending his community."
A brief silence followed.
From everything they had seen, it was obvious—Michael was strong.
And only getting stronger.
Last time, he could easily handle Rank 1 monsters.
Now, he was dealing with Rank 2 monsters.
His growth was evident.
And frighteningly fast.
Both girls assumed his strength and rapid progression were due to an opportunity he received in the Land of Origin.
But regardless of whether that was true or not, one thing remained clear—
Their classmate was becoming terrifyingly powerful.
Even Mira, who had once been confident in her own special class and talent, now found herself doubting.
"How can I get the recipe for a bigger bomb?"
Contracting the long-armed monkey and sand scorpions went smoothly for Michael.
Since he was already familiar with their skills after fighting them, he wasn't particularly excited about contracting them—though he was still satisfied with the result.
When it came time to evolve them, however, that was when he expected to feel truly excited.
The good news was that, thanks to their high levels, once they evolved into one-star rare rank, they would likely approach max level—and after reaching three-star rare rank, they should surely enter Rank 2.
With that done, Michael turned his eyes toward the two biggest prizes in the room.
The griffin and the human mage.
Between the two, Michael ultimately chose to start with the human mage.
Though powerful, the mage was still, at the end of the day, a Rank 1 creature.
From what he had seen of Brian's ability to fly and the fact that Level 4 creatures seemed to be Rank 2, Michael began to notice a pattern—
Level 4 appeared to be a turning point in the cultivation system.
A Level 25 cultivator was probably just a peak Rank 1 being, and stepping into the Master Rank likely made them a true Rank 2 being in the eyes of an Awakener.
Michael also recalled Brian's words about Rank 2 Awakeners gaining the ability to fly.
However, he had sensed uncertainty in Brian's tone, so he wasn't entirely convinced.
Still, the possibility excited him.
Regardless of whether it was true or not, Michael felt that Rank 2 must be an important milestone for Awakeners as well.
Perhaps, at higher ranks, the power difference and unique abilities granted by each rank became even more pronounced.
There had to be a reason why Awakener Academies only accepted Rank 2 students.
It could only mean there was something special about that rank.
But whatever it was, that level was still far from him.
Setting aside those thoughts, Michael focused on the task at hand.
He was about to attempt {Undead Revival} on the dead human mage.
His mana reserves were still high, so he didn't increase it outright.
In any case, he had more mana than the human mage had when alive.
With that in mind, Michael immediately got to work.After taking a deep breath to calm his nerves, he began.
Immediately, Michael felt a massive surge of mana being drawn from his mana pool—far more than he had ever experienced with any of the monsters he had revived before.
This human mage was the strongest undead material he had ever attempted to revive.
Unfortunately, and somewhat expectedly…
His heart pounded rapidly at the realization that he only had one of this corpse.
But after a brief moment of panic, he managed to calm himself down again.
A/N: Sorry for the long delay! I'll do my best to improve next time, so please forgive this author who's truly giving it his all!
For Michael and Lucky! Haha.
Three chapters every day! And don't worry—these three will be released after this one and won't be tied to privilege chapters. Every reader deserves more content.